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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29536395">reap me</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/tenlion/pseuds/tenlion'>tenlion</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>NCT, NCT127, WAYV, nct2018 - Fandom, nctu</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Death, Fate, Grim Reapers, M/M, Reapers, Romance, Smut, Soulmates, Thriller</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 18:42:55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>14,036</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29536395</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/tenlion/pseuds/tenlion</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Johnny is a reaper and Ten is deathly ill. Johnny thought reaping Ten would be easy, but he finds himself getting lost in the beauty of Ten's soul. Just when he thinks the other will come with him to Heaven, fate takes a different turn, and Ten recovers and forgets the reaper. But Johnny won't accept that.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Suh Youngho | Johnny, Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>46</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>TRIGGER WARNING: Death, suicide, MENTIONS of rape and stalking (If you know me, you know what to expect, if you don't, be prepared for some dark stuff. It is not necessarily the main characters, but Johnny is a reaper and he meets scarred souls.) </p><p>(Disclaimer: The main characters are not involved in non-consensual sex and they aren't involved in suicide either)</p>
    </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i originally posted this story on asianfanfics, but i wanted to share it with ao3 as well &lt;33 on aff i go by the username tripping-panda &lt;3</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He was dying. What once had been a strong bronze had an ashy tone to it as his skin revealed how fragile he had become. His lips were rough, chapped, begging for moisture but the boy could barely eat or drink. There was the constant soft beeping from the machine beside the bed, the electric colors of the screen shone brighter, the heart line extended beyond the screen, stretching itself through the room and soon it would reveal itself to go flat. The room was bright, so bright the light that fell on the boy’s skin made it look almost transparent. His chest was rising and falling slowly, cords attached to his limps, needles in his veins, providing nutrients he couldn’t get down during the day. At nights he was barely sleeping, whimpering in his sleep and staring out the window because he slept through the day to avoid seeing the sorrow in his family’s faces.</p><p> </p><p>It won’t take long, the reaper thought to himself. Before he knew it, death would be near and the boy would be able to see him. In his dreams at first. Then he’ll see him at the other end of the room. Maybe he’ll hear him first, notice the looming shadow in the corner.</p><p>Death was coming for him, and the reaper was waiting.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>They never assigned him to just one person. Johnny was always on at least two or three people when working. He got those whose death was nearing, but uncertain, the deaths that needed convincing and maybe a helping hand. “Remember the girl with leukemia?” A reaper called Doyoung asked. “When you turned off her machine?”</p><p>Johnny closed his eyes. That wasn’t his proudest moment but after talking with this girl in her dreams and later even when she was conscious he couldn’t let her suffer anymore. The thing was… she had a chance to survive and Johnny chose to play god and he killed her. It had taken so long for her line to end and yes Johnny had gotten impatient, but he came off as heartless and eager for more work, so that was what people thought of him. Instead, he knew that it was because he cared too much. Sitting there with her in a field of green and watching bunnies run by he knew she’d never experience that again. He knew though that by bringing her soul with him, she’d maybe get a new chance. Fate would treat her kindly and let her try again. Johnny was sure Fate wouldn’t let such a young soul go into the Void, and definitely not Hell. The Passover was a good one for her, she’d try again and she’d find those fields in her dreams.</p><p>Which she did. Johnny snuck off and bailed work one time to find her soul amongst many others and she was now a young boy running through a field chasing sheep with a dog that had stars in its eyes whenever it looked at the boy. She didn’t only find the fields but she also found a loyal friend and the girl he knew may be gone, but her soul lived on.</p><p>Souls were precious material and sometimes Reapers misused them and stole them. There was something alluring and ethereal about these beings of energy that gave life to everything on Earth. Johnny knew he’d once been a soul, that he was chosen for this job by Fate and now he chased dying souls to bring them to Fate and let her choose which road they should take.</p><p>And so he left the dying boy and went to visit his newly assigned soul. She would end soon and her line was more certain. Johnny appeared out of thin air. Actually, they appear by walking through doors or paths, crossing between the worlds in shadows. Which led him straight into the girl’s bedroom, but he didn’t find a sick girl. No, as he entered he found a happy girl, humming along to music and doing her homework. Johnny frowned and eyed the line it had surely been more certain, but what would happen to her? Was her heart sick? Something unnoticeable?</p><p>Johnny walked through the room as quietly as possible, if she was close to death, she’d hear him. The girl looked up and Johnny thought he saw her eyes look straight at him when her eyes flickered towards the door. Steps could be heard coming up the stairs and Johnny leaned against the windowsill when he noticed the girl stiffen. Johnny frowned and looked at the date on one pink calendar hanging on her wall. It was a lovely Thursday night, the air was getting warmer and the sun staying up longer. Yet something was terribly off and Johnny noticed his own reflection in the mirror. Why would her death be this close? Was Johnny called here because somebody had planned her death? It did happen. When somebody was so sure that they wanted to kill her person a reaper got called. Sometimes Fate got confused between certain and possibilities. It’s a busy job.</p><p>Johnny didn’t move but instead watched the knob turn and he frowned at the man that peeked inside. The girl turned off her music on her phone. Johnny noticed her hands shake a little. He had missed something when he first stepped inside, hadn’t he?</p><p>Johnny glanced around as he heard her talk, “hey dad.”</p><p>He couldn’t see any pictures of this dad in the house. Only one of a mother, no wait it was an elderly lady. Johnny walked over to the picture and didn’t notice the man had come inside. He looked at the picture and guessed from the old traditional house in the background that this was taken at the girl’s grandmother’s place. The slight red of her nose and cheeks indicated she’d been at the place for a while, she must stay there for a long period of time every summer, because what she wore looked worn and it didn’t look like clothes you’d find in this room.</p><p>  “Dad, please, you should go to bed.”</p><p>Johnny stiffened and he turned around, watching the girl gently but firmly push the dad towards the door. Johnny gasped. The scene that unfolded in front of him was something he never wished to ever witness but here he was. Watching the poor girl, who was barely 20 get tossed to the ground in front of the entrance. They were blocking Johnny’s way out and so he had to stay put in the other end of the room. The man was talking, he was praising her and giving her compliments that a dad shouldn’t say to his daughter. Johnny’s hands were balled up into fists and his mind was racing. He was a being who had time. When someone was dying time stopped and he’d convince them to come with him. Yet, right now life was still going strong and Johnny had not yet come in contact with her, so he couldn’t do anything.</p><p>Or maybe he could, but that would disturb the destiny she had and how could he ruin Fate’s work? He’d done it once already and Fate wasn’t happy. Yet how could Fate do this to this young girl? Johnny always had a weakness for young girls. Not in a way that is wrong, but because he thought they always went through so many hardships. Life was made hard for them and still they stayed strong and fought back. This girl didn’t. She had gone quiet through it all and Johnny realized the only thing he could do was flick off the light and make sure the girl wouldn’t be scarred with a picture. That maybe this would come off to her as just a nightmare.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Johnny didn’t move away from the windowsill. The girl had kept lying by the door even after the dad had left. She got up at some point, but Johnny kept his gaze downcast as he waited for her to do something. Indicate how her life would end or give him any clue as to how he could convince her that death would be the right way to go. Johnny couldn’t help but huff in the pure irony of his own thoughts. Of course this girl didn’t need convincing, any chance at forgetting what just happened would sound like heaven to her.</p><p>The light flickered itself on and Johnny looked up to see the girl staring straight at him. He stared right back at her, at her messed-up clothes, hair that had come out of her neat ponytail; the red puffy eyes and bruised lips, red marks all over her arms that probably would blossom up into darker colors… Johnny didn’t reveal any of his emotions to her, yet she was not hiding anything, how torn she was, how destroyed she was. Distress, anger, sorrow, and agony showed in her dark eyes and Johnny straightened his back and she took a step back.</p><p>  “How did you get in here?” She asked and Johnny’s eyebrows went up in an expression of him being impressed by her question.</p><p>  “No ‘who are you’. You’re smart.” He said but for a moment his confident posture faltered when their eyes met. If the girl noticed the moment of pity in his eyes he wasn’t sure but she also straightened up, the hand on the switch trembling, yet she stood there with pride. Fake pride. Johnny smirked, fake it ‘till you make it. “The door.” He started and then tilted his head down, looking up through his bangs. “I’m from the place In Between.” He said and pushed himself off the window sill. “Where Destiny meets Fate and doors open and close.”</p><p>The girl tugged up in her shirt. “And what does that mean?” She asked looking like she’d rather not bother with him.</p><p>Johnny smiled. “A new chance.” He explained in a comforting tone. “A place where you have the chance to start anew, get away from this life, choose another.”</p><p>She seemed to look at him differently now as if she was looking for clues past the black suit and the narrow tie. Trying to find any hints as to who he was, what place he was talking about, what his motive was.</p><p>Johnny sighed. “I’m talking about Heaven, Hell, and the Passover.” He said to make himself clearer. “I’m your guide if you need me.”</p><p>The girl put it all together as he started walking towards the door. She stepped in his way before he could reach it. Johnny tried to ignore the way she smelled. She looked up at him and he looked down at the wreck she had become. “You mean death?”</p><p>Johnny smiled. “Your choice.” He said as final and stepped around the spot on the floor he wished wouldn’t be there. As he exited he hoped he wouldn’t hear her cry, but she broke down as soon as he was gone. In the blackness of his travel, he was quick to walk into his own room and run to the bathroom. Every reaper’s room was different. He had chosen what would be a nice apartment. Some people slept in a field. All of it was an illusion of the In Between.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>A beeping could be heard, and a white shadow pulsed past him. Johnny knew it was the boy who was calling for him, maybe unintentionally, but it also meant death was nearing. He got up, glanced at his own reflection, and then he turned around and stepped out of the bathroom, into the white room of the hospital where the boy was resting. Johnny took place in the corner by the window and watched the mother of the boy caress his cheek. “Don’t lose hope, darling. Keep fighting and we’ll get through this.”</p><p>The boy’s lips turned into a thin line and bitterness took over his expression. “You mean, I will have to get through it, mom. It’s my body, not yours.”</p><p>The mom leaned away in shock. Johnny’s brows rose. “Ten…” She gasped.</p><p>  “Sometimes, mom, I just want to give in.” Ten said, his voice thick and eyes glistening. Johnny noticed the world around him pulse, which meant he probably was becoming visible to Ten. Loss of hope was always to a reaper’s advantage. “Aren’t you tired of fighting?” He asked and the mom got up, clearly affected by his words.</p><p>  “No, Ten, I would fight for you even with impossible odds. And this,” she pointed towards Ten as if signaling the illness. “This is not an impossible fight.” She looked angry, but she was desperate. “Doctors make mistakes, don’t believe them. I will get you through this.” As she finished she leaned down, kissed the boy’s forehead, and then she marched out, probably chasing down the doctor who had just been in the room. Johnny’s gaze followed her out the door and he wondered if Ten could see him yet. The other’s black hair wasn’t styled but his bangs were cut right above the eyebrows and Johnny knew the other probably loved styling himself. There seemed to be this ghost of a beaming, passionate boy who had probably been confident and amazing but now he had withered away, leaving a hopeless, dying version of himself behind. Johnny was expectant when the boy lifted his gaze up from the white covers of the bed to the window, but the other’s gaze didn’t linger on Johnny for even a moment. Ten was still not close enough yet.</p><p>Johnny would wait until he fell asleep.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Johnny found himself backstage. Backstage of what he wasn’t sure but people were buzzing around him, trying to find the right spots to stand, some still tugging on jackets or fixing their hair. He saw many different faces, some of them not well-imagined. He was in a dream. In Ten’s dream.</p><p>He found him as the clearest thing between it all. Everything was a little smudged as if an artist had been hurrying his way through a painting, some things lacked color, it was all up to Ten and what he wanted to focus on. The reaper wondered where this dream would like to take him. Johnny looked at Ten who was talking to his mother and sister, both of them wishing him good luck before he went on stage. He was dressed in white tights and a tank top. It must be some kind of performance, his cheekbones were highlighted with blue glitter, eyeliner black and winged. Johnny took himself in focusing on Ten re-touching his dark pink lips in a small mirror. He pressed them together and pursed them and Johnny’s brows flew up in surprise. He couldn’t help but smile in amusement and he followed Ten out on stage, sneaking down instead and taking a seat in the middle of the crowd. The woman behind him didn’t have any eyes, but she was dressed in a purple dress and her hair indicated how wealthy she was. There was a buzzing of different voices but it all erupted into loud applause when Ten went on stage. He looked a little nervous, but the spotlights were on him and he was stunning. Johnny cleared his throat when he became conscious of his own train of thoughts and he sank a little lower in his seat, he didn’t want to be caught too soon. He wanted to know where this was going.</p><p>If this was just a dream or it was what Ten wished for the future, Johnny still couldn’t believe what he saw when the music started blaring. Ten danced like water or maybe it was wind… Moves sharp yet with soft curves and he almost flew. Johnny was smiling as he watched Ten dance and he heard the voiceover cut through the music.</p><p>  “Finally,” Ten’s voice sounded. “I’m showing them what I can do. This is the stage I strived for. This is my stage. Mine alone.”</p><p>Johnny tilted his head to the side as he admired the other, he had landed in a very unique dream and he wished Ten would just keep dancing and never notice this guy dressed in black with his shadow looming over most of the crowd.</p><p>But of course, Ten noticed. After he finished up the crowd was standing up and Johnny was too slow to follow along. As he clapped Ten’s eyes landed on him and the sound vanished first then the people near Johnny were gone in dust. Before he knew it he was alone and he glanced around before looking at Ten. Johnny was still clapping and the sound echoed in the large space. Ten looked uncomfortable.</p><p>  “That was beautiful,” Johnny said with a grin.</p><p>Ten frowned, he was re-adjusting his weight from one foot to the other. “Who are you?”</p><p>Johnny threw his head back with a laugh. “Call me Johnny.” He said and gave Ten a look. Ten looked like that the idea of a name on this stranger would comfort him, but now his fidgeting went from fear to something else. Johnny walked down the row and up the hall to the stage. Ten backed off a few steps but Johnny felt almost breathless and then again full of oxygen. Not that he really needed that.</p><p>  “You’re really pretty.” Ten breathed before snapping back to reality and he covered his mouth. Johnny laughed heartedly, enjoying the compliment.</p><p>  “Thank you,” he replied charmingly. “So are you.”</p><p>Johnny saw Ten’s soul and he realized that once again, he had met a soul that would challenge him and make him do something he’d regret. Yet Ten was too captivating and Johnny felt alive.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As good as that was, it didn’t last long. Johnny just got to his apartment before he was dragged through a doorway and he found himself in the girl’s room.<br/><br/></p><p> </p><p>Johnny looked around, up at the ceiling and the walls, but the room was suddenly so bare. He was sure this was the same room.<br/><br/>  “I’m here.” A small voice said and Johnny spun around to see the girl sit on the bed. Johnny looked at the red lines going up her arms and the crimson that spread on the green bed sheets. He was supposed to comfort her and take away her pain yet fear struck him and he hurried over to grip her wrists, but she was bleeding too much and too fast.<br/><br/>  “Take it away.” She pleaded. “Take away the pain.”<br/><br/>Johnny closed his eyes, squeezing them shut before he looked up and met her gaze. He gritted his teeth and clenched his jaw before he tore in her and he ripped her soul out of her dying body. Her eyes closed and the body dropped down to lie lifelessly on the bed. Johnny dragged the light of the soul with him through the doorway as quick as he could and with her light beside him, he found the way to the In Between. The soul who wore the last face it had had, looked at him and he watched it take the shape of her, only the eyes were bright lights.<br/><br/>  “I feel so much lighter.” She gasped and he smiled.<br/><br/>  “It’s time.” He told her. “You did well.”<br/><br/>She laughed and Johnny enjoyed the sound. “I’ve done better.” She said now that she had the knowledge of her past lives. Johnny saw the faces flicker past until the face of the girl settled upon the soul again.<br/><br/>  “It wasn’t your fault.” He promised her. “You’ll get a better one next time.”<br/><br/>The soul shrugged. “Maybe it’s time to settle down.”<br/><br/>Johnny shook his head, souls and reapers were passing by them as they spoke. “Don’t end it like that. One more.” He grinned excitedly to convince the soul and the girl’s face blossomed into a smile too.<br/><br/>  “One more!” She repeated and Johnny held her hand before taking her towards the bright light everyone was flowing towards. Fate gave Johnny a smile and Johnny got up high to see where Fate would lead the soul to and he couldn’t help but grasp at where he knew a heart had once beaten and feel thrilled to see the soul go to the Passover. <em>One more time.</em></p><p>
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</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Johnny spent all his time with Ten who looked so beautiful in his dreams but was withering away in reality. Johnny ended up sitting on the bed beside Ten at night, the other curling up against him and gripping onto his suit for comfort. Johnny closed his own eyes and found Ten in a dream when he finally fell asleep. The two of them clicked perfectly and Johnny couldn’t help but hope that when Ten died his soul would go to Heaven and Johnny would ask Fate to be allowed to retire and go to Heaven too. Then together they’d spend eternity in a world of their own.<br/><br/>He told Ten of all of this in his dreams and Ten loved the thought of it. In a garden full of flowers Ten crawled into Johnny’s lap, fingers finding Johnny’s neck and lips searching Johnny’s. The sun’s light felt warm, but Ten’s soul shone brightly in this dream, and Johnny felt the kiss leave this mark within him as if this soul now owned him or the soul was owned by him. His own hands softly held Ten’s hips and he pressed kisses to the boy’s lips. Birds were singing and Johnny turned them around so that he could drag his long form over Ten’s, pressing his hips down upon the other’s and lips drawing patterns that almost left marks on Ten’s skin.<br/><br/><br/></p><p> </p><p>When he met Doyoung in the In Between he suddenly realized how fucked he was.<br/><br/>  “You <em>what</em>?” Doyoung gasped and turned around, the two of them standing in Johnny’s apartment.<br/><br/>  “He kissed me-”<br/><br/>Doyoung was frowning. “You are supposed to convince them to die not… whatever the fuck you’re doing right now. It’s bad!”<br/><br/>Johnny dropped onto his couch. A hand coming up to be dragged down his face. “Don’t you think I know that? I was ready to convince him but… right now I have no idea of what I’m doing.”<br/><br/>  “If he kissed you, why isn’t he dead by now?” Doyoung asked. “Clearly you have him in the palm of your hand so why haven’t you dragged him off to Fate yet?”<br/><br/>Johnny grimaced, he was so confused by his own actions. He was rubbing his own thighs to clear the tension in his shoulders but he couldn’t stop thinking. “Fuck.” He winced and then Doyoung’s expression changed.<br/><br/>  “Is this another method of yours? To win the soul over?”<br/><br/>Johnny snapped his head up. “No! Why would you think that?” He asked. The hurt in his voice came out a little too clear for his own taste.<br/><br/>Doyoung seemed surprised by the hurt in his voice. “Well, you killed the girl to get the job done, so why are you spending so much time with this soul.”<br/><br/>Johnny closed his eyes, disbelief taking over his features. He chuckled. “I never killed her to get the job done. I wanted her suffering to stop and I wanted to give her a new chance. She was lingering in a world of pain and I had to help her.”  Johnny raised his eyes to look at Doyoung who was staring at him as if piecing things together.<br/><br/>  “Dude, you’re justifying this situation by that?”<br/><br/>Johnny gawped. “I’m not- justifying anything! I know it was wrong but I hated to watch her suffer!”<br/><br/>  “We’re supposed to be emotionless.”<br/><br/>  “Well, Fate did me wrong,” Johnny said and then stood. “Now get out of my apartment.” He finished and Doyoung was quick to oblique. Johnny sat down by the bed his hands coming up to be buried in his hair. He sat there until Ten called him again and without even thinking he was quick to show up in Ten’s dream. He couldn’t get enough of him.</p><p>
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</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Fate assigned him two new people. Johnny managed one of them pretty quick, but he couldn’t help but hear Fate say. “Made a mistake with the other one. So here are two.”<br/><br/>He had at first thought of the girl, that she had deserved better, but then he felt his connection with Ten falter and in the dreams, Ten told him that he was back at home. That he was better and Johnny managed to find him without looking for death and Ten looked much better.<br/><br/>Which meant the plan for both of them to go to Heaven was gone and Ten wasn’t his soul to catch anymore.<br/><br/>Not knowing exactly why, but also knowing it deep in his bones, he felt insanity come over him and he couldn’t fight it. <em>His </em>soul was gone. Ten had been his and now the other yearned life and not the comfort of the reaper. Johnny though still visited Ten when he could and only did at night, because who would like a reaper to visit them at day. It was almost impossible too, the stronger Ten became the harder it was for Johnny to go see him. They moved in shadows not light and Ten was shining so bright.</p><p> </p><p>He couldn’t take it and he thought so desperately of reasons to let go, of ideas to get what he wanted and he noticed Doyoung’s frown one day. Doyoung always stood up whenever he came to the apartment and Johnny was seated on the couch.<br/><br/>  “You’re going a little rouge, aren’t you?” He asked after a long silence. “Being rather cold and pulling in soul after soul and I rarely find you in your apartment lately.” Doyoung narrowed his eyes, taking in a quick breath, “don’t tell me you’re going to that soul’s place every time you’re not working?”<br/><br/>Johnny glared at Doyoung. “Why do you care?” He asked. “Aren’t you used to me being cold-hearted? I kill people after all.”<br/><br/>Doyoung groaned. “I didn’t mean it like that. Johnny, we only convince people to die. You made a mistake, it’s okay.”<br/><br/>Johnny hugged his own body. “I’m gonna make another.” He warned Doyoung. “If you make more than one, it isn’t a mistake.”<br/><br/>Doyoung’s eyes widened. “You can’t.”<br/><br/>  “I don’t care.”<br/><br/>  “Fate will send you to Hell!” Doyoung went over to Johnny to kneel down in front of him, trying to catch his eye. “An eternal pain!”<br/><br/>  “I don’t care. This feels like Hell already.” He said and then he stood up. Doyoung backed off. “Be a good friend and stay away. I don’t want Fate to condemn you to the same fate as mine.” Johnny realized what he said and he chuckled. “<em>Fate.</em>”<br/><br/><br/><br/></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>It was first in Ten’s dreams that Johnny appeared. Now what had always made Ten’s dreams brighter changed. Suddenly he felt the presence of something he knew so well, but it had changed. Ten was in a room and it was a funny dream until the light outside started to dim and Ten glanced out at the dark clouds that was gathering on the sky. He went through the room and through a door that missed a handle and some of the frame, but it wasn’t important. He didn’t see the odd colors of the jackets in the hallway since his purpose was the entrance to the garden and those doors looked picture-perfect, yet the world out there… it looked very unwelcoming.<br/><br/><br/>Ten breathed in deeply before he pushed the door open and a terrible wind blew in, and he squinted grabbing onto the door. He saw something at the very back of the garden. A tall dark figure and Ten let go of the door and the wind blew him away and he was enveloped in darkness.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>  “The nightmare was awful.” Ten recalled to a friend as they walked to school. “Now every time I dream the feeling of being watched intensifies like I’m sure something is right with me, but it’s waiting.”<br/><br/>  “For what?” The friend asked.<br/><br/>Ten rubbed his forehead in thought. “I don’t know, but I don’t want to know what.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Ten was once again in the house that resembled his own home. This time he was alone at home and it was dark outside. Ten was walking upstairs as if he was heading for bed but then he heard a door open downstairs the wind howled outside. Ten gripped the railing of the staircase before he contemplated on running upstairs into his bedroom or going downstairs to close the door. He decided to close the door would have to be done or else he wouldn’t feel comfortable with sleeping at all. So he was brave and he walked into the hallway. The door to the garden was wide open and Ten stared into the dark garden with his heart in his throat. His feet moved faster, he knew whatever it was it would get in and he ran towards the door. It was like he ran a mile, he almost didn’t move at all. As soon as the door was in reach he slammed it shut and locked the door. He looked up. The pale face of the reaper shone in the light from inside and his brown eyes locked with Ten’s. Ten screamed. Johnny smiled.</p><p>
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</p><p> </p><p>Ten was sitting in his bed all morning. He couldn’t make himself do something at all. He was still sweating, and he felt like he’d run a marathon because his body was exhausted from that dream. The reaper was back. He had vanished when Ten got better, much to Ten’s sadness but also to his relief. He had loved every word the reaper said and everything about him, but he wasn’t finished with life just yet. As he left the hospital he merely thought it was a play of his mind because of the medicine he was taking. Now as the nightmares began; he was doubting it. He wasn’t taking it anymore. Johnny should be gone. Why was he back? Why did he feel so real?</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Ten recognized the nightmare. It had come too often the past two weeks and he knew that he had to close the window, lock the door to the garden and make sure the doors to the balcony upstairs was closed too. As he ran around doing that he heard steps outside as if the reaper was moving from place to place, and Ten was barely missing him by a second. Ten hoped this time he’d win, this time he could enter his bedroom but as he opened the door to his bedroom, he reached for the light switch only to notice his window was open. The dread that filled him was enough; he didn’t need to see the reaper. He woke up screaming once again when the curtain blew and revealed Johnny to be inside his bedroom.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Ten sat in his bed once again, completely paralyzed. He glanced over towards the window that was letting a breeze in and he threw his blanket off himself, baring his legs to the cool night air that had filled his room. He swung his feet over the edge of the bed and landed upon the smooth wooden floor, hissing at how cold it felt against his bare feet. He quickly went over and closed the window, looking out upon the garden it was facing. His heart was in his throat, he breathed cautiously, scanning the garden area and he almost finished and turned back around when something odd caught his attention and he snapped back to look. A tall figure walked out of his garden and around his house. Ten dropped to the ground, curling into a ball against the wall. He’s here. He realized. Johnny was coming to get him and Ten could do nothing about it. The reaper wanted what had run away from him. Ten thought the reaper would be happy that Ten survived but now it was clear:<br/><br/>Johnny was furious.<br/><br/>Furious enough to go against the rules and come back for the soul that was supposed to be his way out of the life he was living.<br/><br/></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Johnny felt kind of amused. Oddly amused. Seeing Ten run to each door and every open window made him excited. He liked seeing Ten’s eyes so wide, knowing he was trembling in fear just because of Johnny’s presence. Johnny didn’t have to do anything but be near and Ten was already so aware. Johnny couldn’t get enough, and so he took the time to get to know Ten’s house in and out to make sure that the dreams were as haunting as possible.<br/><br/>That was when he passed by Ten’s parents talking about their weekend trip out and Johnny couldn’t help but laugh. He laughed so loud that Ten who was doing his homework upstairs threw off his headset and looked around. Johnny walked out of the room and into his apartment. Time to prepare.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>  “What do you plan on doing?” Doyoung asked as soon as Johnny entered. The taller scowled as he saw Doyoung sitting on his couch in his room. As if he had been waiting. “You’re neglecting your duties. Fate asked me if I had seen you. When a reaper goes missing, it is damn obvious that something bad is going down. What are you going to do?” He said in such a shrill voice that Johnny grimaced.<br/><br/>  “Just a little payback,” Johnny said and a smile pulled at the corners of his lips, his eyes shone but it wasn’t happiness it was pure madness.<br/><br/>Doyoung huffed in disbelief. “You can’t! Too bad! He survived this illness but he will still die! They all do!”<br/><br/>Johnny looked offended, he was standing in the doorway between his bathroom and the living room. “But he probably won’t come to me. Maybe some other reaper will get him because I fa-” Johnny stopped himself from saying the word.<br/><br/>Doyoung’s brows neared each other in a deeper frown. “His friend will kill himself.” He said. “I heard him talking about this Ten being odd and I just knew it was your doing.”<br/><br/>  “What is he saying?” Johnny asked curiously and Doyoung stood as if he was on his way over to punch Johnny square in the face.<br/><br/>  “I won’t give you the satisfaction of telling you!” He shrieked. “One thing though, if you kill Ten it is obvious why this boy will die. Don’t you dare be the reason for this kid’s death.”<br/><br/>Johnny cocked a brow. “Oh, is someone getting attached?”<br/><br/>Doyoung groaned. “WE ALL GET ATTACHED!” He screamed. “Johnny, you’re my friend, but I don’t know you anymore!”<br/><br/>  “WE ARE DEAD!” Johnny yelled right back and Doyoung flinched at the force of it. Johnny’s dark hair that was always slicked back lately fell forwards and the disheveled state of him made him look terrifying. “We were souls that were chosen to work for the rest of our lasting energy! What satisfaction do we get!? WHAT DO WE GET?”<br/><br/>  “I don’t know?!” Doyoung retaliated with the same amount of force. “Go! Retire! Go to fucking Hell or Heaven I don’t care! Just stop messing with this soul’s life, he doesn’t deserve it!”<br/><br/>Johnny’s head tipped down and his eyes turned dark. Doyoung tilted his head in confusion when Johnny’s voice went two octaves down, so low it was a growl. “He promised me something. And I will receive it.”<br/><br/>Doyoung gawped. “What?”<br/><br/>  “He promised he was mine,” Johnny smirked. “And so I will make him mine.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>T</span>
  <span>en watched his parents go with his heart dropping with every step they took away from the house. It was still light out and he immediately closed the door and locked it, running around his house making sure every door was closed and locked. Windows were secure, every doorway blocked. He couldn’t help but chuckle at himself as he stood in the kitchen, sweat running down his nose and temples; his shirt sticking to his back. He ended up breaking out into a full-on laugh but there was no amusement to it, it was hysterical. He had survived a deadly illness, he had been on the brink of death and now he was wasting his life away by locking doors and hiding in corners. The anxiety that welled up in him was life-ruining, it ate him up from inside out and he felt like he couldn’t return to his own self. He took himself in taking a seat on the couch, laptop in his lap, and a comedy movie running on the TV.<br/><br/>He sat with a webpage open, the Google search bar blank but he filled it out letter by letter. R E A P E R. </span>
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  <span>He sat there for hours, the sun went down and he had pulled the curtains to cover the windows so he wouldn’t get anxious and only find himself picturing the reaper right outside of his window. Johnny had been his only happiness when he thought he was dying. His only hope. He was excited to fall asleep, he didn’t mind waking up or staying awake because Johnny was there. Now it left such a bitter feeling and just the thought of Johnny appearing made him break into a cold sweat. What would Johnny do to him? What would happen when the reaper finally caught him?<br/><br/>Ten shook his head. That wouldn’t happen. He could survive this weekend and his parents would be home and he would be… safe.</span>
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  <span>Ten was falling asleep, even though he was trying to stay awake his eyelids were too heavy. For a short moment, he saw images from a shaky perspective. He saw his house from the outside, and he saw that the curtains were drawn. When the person reached the window his reflection could be seen and the smile that spread on the reaper’s face made Ten jump up from the couch.<br/><br/>At the same time, he sprang up there sounded a slam of a door closing and Ten spun around. He reached out his hands, ready for the reaper to step right in with his black hair and black suit, the slim tie, the high collar, the pale skin… Yet a head of messy caramel hair came to view and Jaehyun looked up at Ten with a questioning expression.<br/><br/>  “You look like, you’ve seen a ghost.” He said and Ten eyed the curtains.<br/><br/>  “Maybe I have.” He muttered.<br/><br/> Jaehyun who was looking through his backpack looked up. “What?” He asked but Ten only picked up the mess he had left on the couch. Jaehyun came over and softly squeezed Ten’s shoulder. “I didn’t know you were gonna be home alone? Not before my mom mentioned your parents going away, I ran out as soon as I could.” Jaehyun was beaming, yet Ten found his gaze fixing itself on a slight movement of the curtain behind Jaehyun and he inhaled a trembling breath. Jaehyun’s smile seemed to blur and Ten turned his head to look towards the hall where Jaehyun had come in.<br/><br/>  “Did you lock the door?” He asked but it felt as if someone else had spoken. He felt it. They weren’t alone anymore.<br/><br/>Jaehyun frowned. “Dude, you guys never lock the door to the garden. For the first time, I had to find the spare key beneath the metal turtle like-” Jaehyun stopped talking when Ten ran into the hallway. He immediately followed and both of them looked at the open door with wide eyes. Ten immediately sprang forwards after they had looked into the endless darkness of the garden.<br/><br/>Ten was spinning around in circles. “You let him in.” He cried and ran into the kitchen, grabbing a kitchen knife. “He’s in here.” He whimpered and Jaehyun gripped the kitchen counter, staring at Ten’s trembling form.<br/><br/>  “What is happening? Who’s <em>he</em>?” Jaehyun asked and Ten looked through the doorway that led from the kitchen to the grand entrance and he looked at the staircase. A long shadow of a man stretched its way down the steps and Ten felt all hope leave his body.<br/><br/>  “You’ll know soon enough.” He said and looked at Jaehyun. “Don’t get in his way.” He said as final and Jaehyun frowned. He opened his mouth to speak when out of the blue a broad back covered his sight from Ten. Shadows seemed to shape this man who leaned in over a terrified Ten and his long pale fingers curled around Ten’s throat before Ten was dragged out of the kitchen. He was screaming and crying out a name that Jaehyun somewhat recognized.<br/><br/>  “Johnny! Please!”<br/><br/>Jaehyun was completely frozen. Just the backside of the man had left him scared to the bone. He couldn’t even move as he heard Ten beg for his life and fight back and then the door to Ten’s bedroom slammed shut and Jaehyun felt as if he had died right at that moment. </span>
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  <span>Ten dropped to the floor and he kicked his heels against the ground to distance himself from the reaper before he looked up at Johnny. The tall reaper looked down at him without any humor or warmth in his eyes. Yet there was a burning passion within them and Ten felt his heartbeat rise in excitement.<br/><br/>Johnny stepped closer and Ten’s back hit his bed. Johnny crouched down over him, face close to Ten’s. “What are you afraid of?” He asked in a low voice and Ten cried out, closing his eyes and turning his face away.<br/><br/>  “Please! Johnny please!” He begged and Johnny chuckled, he trailed a finger down Ten’s cheek and the other shuddered, he cried out in fear, curling into a ball, and Johnny’s hand retreated.<br/><br/>  “I won’t do anything to you.” He then said and Ten dared to look at Johnny, being surprised by the words he heard. “Not without your permission.” He said with a smile, but even if his voice was soft it still sent chills down Ten’s spine.<br/><br/>  “You- you won’t get that from me.” Ten said and Johnny cocked his brows before turning his face the other way, revealing his long pale neck and now Ten found himself staring at it. The reaper had once been so gentle, so caring, and loving and Ten suddenly realized that the only harm Johnny had brought him was forcing him up the stairs. Ten didn’t understand it, why was he fearing Johnny so much when he had done nothing bad. <em>Yet</em>. A thought crept into Ten’s mind. He hasn’t done anything <em>yet</em>.<br/><br/>Ten frowned. Johnny could have done something by now, the strength he had and the power… He didn’t need to ask for permission or wait for it either. Ten was conflicted and he sat with his eyes squeezed shut, with Johnny still hovering above him. Johnny touched the strands of Ten’s hoodie, pulling in them to tighten the hood a little. “Take this off.” He said and Ten opened his eyes to look at Johnny. How could such a soft voice make that sentence a demand? Why did Ten react so quickly when Johnny hadn’t yelled or showed any sign of force. He almost ripped it off and then he sat there in his t-shirt. Johnny fixed Ten’s sleeves and straightened out the shirt, his fingers graced Ten’s skin and left the other breathless. “Thank you,” Johnny said and then went back to just crouching in front of Ten, watching the smaller with eyes that showed some sort of care but also that burning passion.<br/><br/>Knocks on the door made Ten jump in shock and Johnny whipped his head around; a hostile expression taking over his features. Ten found himself reaching out, grabbing onto Johnny’s wrist before the other could stand up. Jaehyun was calling out Ten’s name and Ten knew, somehow he knew that Johnny wouldn’t harm Ten, but he would probably not mind harming Jaehyun. “Ignore him. Please.” Ten pleaded and Johnny immediately crouched down again, his long fingers finding their way to Ten’s that was still on Johnny’s arm. Ten gasped and tried to ignore the delight in Johnny’s eyes.<br/>Johnny sat for a little while just smiling and looking into Ten’s eyes before he reached into the pocket of his jacket. Ten was calming down, he wasn’t trembling as much anymore. Johnny pulled out a gift and placed it in Ten’s lap. He signaled with his eyes for Ten to open it and Ten’s fingers worked quickly. He took off the lid only to feel his breath get stuck in his throat. There was a choker in it, it was wide leather, but it was softer on the inside and there was a large ring on it as if it was a collar. Johnny was still smiling, eyes reading Ten’s expression. Ten gripped it.<br/><br/>  “I want you to be mine,” Johnny said. “Like you promised you were.” Ten blinked up at Johnny and the reaper just smiled in reply. “I will keep my promises, but you have to keep yours.”<br/><br/>Ten gawped up at Johnny.<br/><br/>  “You promised me your soul. You promised me you.”<br/><br/>Ten felt his cheeks grow hot and he fiddled with the choker. Johnny wasn’t lying. Ten had promised to go with Johnny, to go to Heaven with him. Ten felt like he owed it to Johnny, to at least wear the choker so he put it on. After that, the two of them were again in the same position and Ten stared at the ground. Johnny fiddled with the hem of Ten’s t-shirt. He lifted it up a little so Ten’s belt was in view and Ten gasped when Johnny’s fingers touched the belt suggestively. Ten was growing very hot beneath Johnny’s gaze, and the other was barely touching him yet Ten was now squirming. Should he say yes? Ten tugged down in his shirt and Johnny let his hand retreat back to his own lap. Why was he even thinking about saying yes, Johnny definitely had something in store for him and Ten knew that Johnny wouldn’t back down. One way or another he would make Ten say yes, and was that really true consent?<br/><br/>  “What are you gonna do?” Ten asked and Johnny grinned excitedly at the other’s question.<br/><br/>  “Claim you as mine.” He said as if it was obvious. Ten’s crotch was tingling in the same excitement just hearing Johnny say that, but he didn’t give in. Johnny brushed Ten’s hair back, but besides that he didn’t touch the other. “To claim you, I need you to be as close to death as possible.” He said and Ten’s eyes widened in fear, Johnny chuckled. “You won’t die, but it’ll feel like going to Heaven and back, which your soul almost does if I do it well.”<br/><br/>Ten’s eyes widened, even more, when it clicked for him. Johnny was talking about sex. Ten was getting bothered now; Johnny was already doing a very good job.<br/><br/>  “Say yes,” Johnny demanded but it was almost a plea. Ten looked at those lips he had kissed before, many times before. Ten’s body was already leaning closer, and he looked up, baring his neck in the process. His mind was racing, his body was thrilled but he knew he was going into something dangerous, something he shouldn’t, yet he couldn’t stop himself. His chin almost met Johnny’s, feeling Johnny’s hot breath wash over him.<br/><br/>  “Okay,” Ten said but Johnny didn’t budge. Ten swallowed hard, it was a physical struggle to say the word. It felt humiliating but also thrilling. Ten’s heartbeat quickened, the hairs on his arms rising when he noticed that Johnny’s hands were raised, ready to lock around his jaw, ready to grip him hard and pull him closer. He was in control he realized, now Johnny was just waiting and Ten smiled.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <span>  “Ye-”</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <span> The door was kicked open. “Ten!” Jaehyun’s voice sounded and he fell through the door as if not expecting it to open. Ten looked back at Johnny but the reaper was gone. Ten gripped his shirt, his heartbeat slowly came down to a normal rhythm. Then he realized he had almost given into Johnny’s demands. He may almost just have let himself be taken by Death.<br/><br/>Ten cried and Jaehyun crawled over before pulling him close, looking around because for a moment he felt as if someone had helped him break down the door. There was no one in sight, and Jaehyun held Ten’s small shoulders tightly in his embrace, feeling the other’s wet tears seep through his shirt as he rocked the other back and forth. “He won’t get you.” Jaehyun promised.</span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Doyoung stood in the doorway, panting as he eyed the window. He looked down at the two students, both holding onto each other. Johnny was playing with Fate’s work right now. But was Doyoung doing that too now that he was helping Jaehyun? </span>
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  <span>  “Tell me what the fuck are you doing?” Doyoung asked as they stood in Johnny’s apartment. The tall reaper had turned away from Doyoung, standing by one of the windows that had a view over Seoul. “We’re dead! We’re not even dead we’re fucking death itself! Stop chasing the living around as if that will bring you life because it’ll only ruin their lives!”<br/><br/>Johnny pushed himself away and turned around, his broad shoulders illuminated by the light from outside and almost enhanced as he stormed over. His tie was loosened and his hair wild and Doyoung stepped back when he was pinned against the wall. “Don’t you think I know?!” Johnny yelled, his hand curled around Doyoung’s small jaw. Doyoung had gritted teeth as he looked up at Johnny with wide eyes.<br/><br/>  “Get your hands off of me.” He seethed and Johnny just smirked.<br/><br/>He leaned closer, his whole body now pinning Doyoung to the wall with all his weight. Doyoung shuddered, inhaling a shaky breath. Johnny shifted between looking into Doyoung’s left and right eye as if reading the other reaper. “You intervened too, <em>friend.</em>”<br/><br/>  “I can’t let you do this.” Doyoung breathed and Johnny threw his head back with a laugh before pushing himself off Doyoung and stepping away.<br/><br/>  “What is the correct thing to do, Doyoung?” He asked and dropped down on his bed with his hands gripping the blanket between his legs as he sat there. He looked up at Doyoung who was trembling. “Maybe it is Ten’s fate to be taken by me?”<br/><br/>  “It’s not!” Doyoung said, straightening his back.<br/><br/>  “How can you know if you’re not disturbing the plan with trying to save the boy?” He mused again and his voice had such a cold tone to it Doyoung felt chills run up his arms. “Or is it for the other kid? Jaehyun?” Johnny grinned knowingly and Doyoung glared at the other reaper.<br/><br/>  “Shut it.” He demanded and Johnny raised his brows in surprise, he looked pleased and Doyoung couldn’t look at the other’s smug face anymore so he stormed out of the apartment. “Just go to Hell already!” He yelled on his way out and slammed the door after him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Johnny let himself fall back onto the bed and stared up at the fan in the ceiling. Maybe, he thought, but not alone. </span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span>  “I won’t survive this weekend.” Ten said as Jaehyun and him found their way into the kitchen. Ten accepted a glass of water from Jaehyun and had to hold it with two hands because he was trembling. Jaehyun watched him pitifully before gulping down his own glass of water.<br/><br/>  “I’ll be here with you.” He said and Ten lowered his glass before reaching out a hand and Jaehyun took it in his. It was a quiet thank you and the two of them tried to get back on track by making popcorn and putting on a movie. Keeping every door and window closed and locked. The two of them fell asleep on the couch huddled together under blankets and popcorn decorating the carpet while 5 soda cans were spread on the sofa table. </span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ten woke up to the sound of a creaking door and he sat up eyes still closed as he rubbed the sleep out of them. He licked his dry lips and lowered his hands before opening his eyes slowly. A warm breath danced across his face and he felt as if his breath was sucked out of his lungs when he opened his eyes to meet Johnny’s. He opened his mouth to scream but Johnny’s large hand cupped Ten’s lower face and kept the sound locked in. Ten glanced to the side to see headphones in Jaehyun’s ears and he looked back at Johnny with frightened wide eyes. Johnny crawled on top of Ten on the couch, slowly lifting his hand from Ten’s mouth as if ready to slam it back if Ten dared to speak. Ten sealed his lips shut, once again in the mercy of the reaper. So soon. Too soon.<br/><br/>  “Please,” he whispered as Johnny’s fingertips ran up Ten’s chest ghosting over his nipples and leaving Ten shuddering.<br/><br/>  “Just one word.” Johnny spoke, hands closing around Ten’s throat and jaw, face nearing Ten’s as his full lips traced Ten’s jaw-line. “One word and you’ll be mine.” He said and Ten exhaled before he gasped as Johnny kissed his cheek. The hairs on Ten’s arms and neck rose, it had been so delicate and Ten’s eyes flickered closed. Johnny breathed near Ten’s ear before his tongue met Ten’s earlobe and Ten shook. “Can I take you?” He asked and Ten opened his eyes to meet Johnny’s. Dawn was greeting them.<br/><br/>Ten felt his heartbeat speed up, the thought so exhilarating and he breathed in to reply when a door closed in the house and Johnny lifted his gaze away from Ten.<br/><br/>  “Shit.” He cursed as they heard steps coming down the stairs. Ten wondered who it was before Johnny got up and backed away. Ten saw the sun’s first light upon the floor but a shadow stretched along with it. He lifted his head and turned around but there wasn’t anyone standing in the hall where Johnny was looking. Johnny huffed and Ten cried out when a hand shot out and locked around his throat. Ten gripped onto Johnny’s arm in shock, gasping even though the hand wasn’t clutching too hard, he could still breathe.<br/><br/>  “Feel it.” Johnny growled and Ten looked up to see that Johnny wasn’t talking to him. “He wants me.”  He said and he suddenly put one knee on the couch and leaned in over Ten who was forced back and he leaned against the couch as Johnny put his lips close to Ten’s. Ten’s body was too hot and he just waited for Johnny to do something, take the next step, but Johnny let Ten linger in the madness that was anticipation. Johnny lifted his gaze. “Oh, I know.” He said in a playful tone. Ten gasped. “He’ll give in.” He said and Ten was just about to breathe a yes when Jaehyun moved in his sleep and Johnny sighed. “I’ll be back.” He whispered and Ten took himself in gripping onto Johnny’s jacket, he wanted to give in to the other, for the other to just take him already but sanity washed over him and he let go as soon as he had held on. Johnny didn’t even notice as he walked around the couch towards the shadow and he pushed the shadow away. The door that had let him in opened and closed. It wasn’t locked.</span>
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  <span>Too close.</span>
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  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span>  “</span>
  <span>I</span>
  <span>’ll kill them if that makes him mine,” Johnny muttered as he stood in his room. A figure was struggling on the floor, the shiny leather shoe of Johnny’s pressed to his throat. “I will kill Jaehyun first,” Johnny said dangerously. The latter on the floor released a silent scream. Johnny removed his foot and crouched down. “We get no happiness. No joy. But connecting with a soul...” Johnny’s eyes rolled backward just imagining the ecstasy. “Pleasure. I will feel all that he feels. He will be mine. When he dies, he’ll bring me with him, Doyoung. He’ll take me out of this misery. I will have done my job of taking him to Heaven and Fate can’t deny that I have to go with him.”<br/><br/>Doyoung spoke against the gag Johnny had put on him. Johnny gasped. “You’re right. Punishment. I’m breaking some laws? Well. Let me see, Ten was my soul to take from the beginning. To Heaven or a new life? I’m just taking him to another kind of heaven. Shouldn’t be so wrong.”<br/><br/>Doyoung hissed something with his eyes full of hatred. Johnny grinned. “I know you’re cursing at me. Too bad I can’t hear it.” </span>
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  <br/>
  <br/>
  <span>  “Wish your little crush goodbye. I’ll kill him if he gets in the way again.”</span>
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  <span>Ten felt as if somebody was watching him all day. As the sun lowered on the sky, Ten’s anxiety sky-rocketed, and Jaehyun could feel it.<br/><br/>  “Ten, maybe we should go to my house?” Jaehyun suggested, but Ten who was watching the sun set merely shook his head.<br/><br/>  “No,” he replied and continued to sip from his hot chocolate. Jaehyun frowned.<br/><br/>  “You’re not safe here.” Jaehyun insisted. “We should definitely go if that shadow comes back.”<br/><br/>Ten sighed and looked down at the steam rising from the cup in his hands. “Jaehyun. You don’t understand.”<br/><br/>Jaehyun couldn’t reply. He was frustrated and angry, but he couldn’t say anything. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but his friend was not right in his head. Every instinct in Jaehyun told him to run, but Ten kept sitting there, waiting for night to come. </span>
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  <span>Jaehyun and Ten were sleeping in Ten’s bed. Jaehyun locked the door and checked the window before he crawled beneath the comforters. “Tomorrow your parents will come home, Ten. Nothing to worry about.”<br/><br/>Ten nodded. “You’re right.” He smiled, but the smile he gave Jaehyun didn’t reach his eyes. Jaehyun didn’t notice it though. Ten’s words comforted him enough for Jaehyun to close his eyes and let sleep come over him. Night fell upon the world and Ten waited for Jaehyun to fall asleep before he slipped out of the bed. He went over to his desk where the collar was lying on the table. He put it on, eying his reflection before walking over to the door.<br/><br/>He could feel Johnny’s presence by it, as if the other was waiting right outside. Ten unlocked the door and opened it. He slipped through and closed it again. He went into his parents’ bedroom and let the door be wide open. Ten walked towards the bed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He didn’t even reach it before he felt hands around his waist, a body pressing against his back. A voice spoke into Ten’s hair. “Just say the word, and you will have me as much as I will have you.”<br/><br/>Ten sighed in bliss when Johnny’s hand slipped a little lower than his waist, going down his stomach and to the front of his pants. Ten felt a twitch beneath Johnny’s palm, and he leaned into the other. “Do you want me, Johnny?” He asked the other. “Just me.”<br/><br/>Johnny pressed his palm down and Ten cried out in pleasure. He felt Johnny’s breath on his neck and shuddered. “It’s only you. I want you so badly, Ten.” Johnny muttered before pecking Ten’s neck. Ten bucked his hips into Johnny’s hand.<br/><br/>  “Then take me.” Ten pleaded. “I want you. Please, take me.”<br/><br/>  “Can I?” Johnny growled and palmed Ten more eagerly. “Can I really make you mine?”<br/><br/>Ten didn’t hesitate this time. “Yes.” He almost cried. “Yes, please.”<br/><br/>Johnny spun Ten around, his large hands cupping Ten’s face and his lips crashing onto Ten’s in the most heated kiss they had ever shared. Ten’s hands gripped Johnny’s jacket as if Johnny wasn’t death, but life. Ten needed him and wanted him because he was something forbidden. Something Ten knew he should stay away from, but Johnny was everything he wanted. He knew Johnny was good, and he knew he was the reason Johnny had gone dark.<br/><br/>With every kiss they shared, their tongues darting out and meeting in each other’s mouths, Johnny was less rough, but the passion never faded. It grew stronger when Ten ripped Johnny’s jacket off his shoulders and Johnny shook it off and threw it to the other side of the room. Ten almost tore open Johnny’s shirt to undo the buttons and Johnny was swift to remove the t-shirt Ten had worn for bed. When their chests met, they felt like sparkles emitted between their touches, and Ten was gasping and moaning and Johnny kept humming in pleasure as their hands wandered across each other’s bodies.<br/><br/>Ten almost couldn’t catch his breath when he trailed kisses down Johnny’s chest. There were no mistakes on Johnny’s body; it was carved so beautifully. No hair in the wrong places, like the perfect bodies in the magazines. He sat on his knees, in front of Johnny and looked up at the dark eyes that were watching him. Johnny’s belt clicked open and his zipper went down, as his pants fell to pool at his feet, Ten’s mouth embraced him, lips wrapped tightly around his warmth. Johnny had never felt pleasure like this. Not when he guided old souls that had lived fulfilling lives to Fate, nothing like that joy and satisfaction could match the fire that was licking through his veins when Ten worked his tongue around him. Johnny knew this was only because it was Ten. He had tried touching himself, searching for any feeling, but he never felt anything.<br/><br/>He truly felt alive with Ten, and that was what he had yearned for so much. He had wanted to kill and hurt people, in order to feel that bliss of life. Ten was life to him.<br/><br/>Ten leaned back his head, saliva glinting in the light from the moon. Johnny leaned down, crouching down to Ten who was on his knees and he attached their lips together, licking the boy’s lips clean. Ten wiped his chin as both of them got up. Johnny guided Ten to the large bed. It belonged to Ten’s parents, but not anymore. Johnny rid Ten of his underwear and smiled down at the other, running his fingers down the inner thighs of the boy. Ten was sinking into the soft blankets, Johnny hovering above him, marking his skin with his lips and teeth and Ten’s back arched off the mattress when Johnny was between his legs, tongue pleasuring Ten in ways he had never thought he would feel.<br/><br/>Ten covered his mouth when Johnny’s fingers moved into him, and Johnny kissed the back of Ten’s hand, whispering gentle words and promising a pleasure that came to Ten after a while. When the moans that were drawn from Ten’s lips were of pleasure and not of any pain or uncomfortable pleasures, Johnny shifted his fingers out with something bigger. He licked Ten’s ear, whispering into his ear of promises and asking one question.<br/><br/>  “May I?”<br/><br/>Ten opened his eyes and looked into Johnny’s dark ones. He felt a thrill run through him as he realized that he had been captured. Johnny had hunted him through his house in his dreams and now here he was, taking what he had wanted in the beginning. Ten felt breathless, the tension in his lower stomach becoming too intense and he nodded. “I’m yours.” Ten assured the other and Johnny grinned, leaning down to kiss Ten, and then he guided them further in on the bed and pressed his way into Ten’s body. Ten cried out, not expecting the feeling that would come over him and he threw his head to the side, only to notice the open door.<br/><br/>  “The door Johnny.” He pleaded, and Johnny who was now buried deep inside of Ten tried to focus and look the same way.<br/><br/>  “Fine.” Johnny groaned and he wrapped his arms around Ten and lifted him up. Ten gasped and moaned at the feeling inside of him as Johnny moved off the bed, still not pulling out. He walked to the door with Ten in his arms, and closed it. Just as he did he saw Jaehyun in the hallway, gawping at the sight of them. Johnny smirked, and locked the door, walking over to a dresser and letting Ten rest on it. Then he started moving and Ten was moaning through gritted teeth, but Johnny kissed his neck and comforted him with touches.<br/><br/>  “I feel so good, Johnny.” Ten then breathed, the dresser knocking against the wall and the boy on top of it moaning with pleasure. Johnny hooked a finger into the ring on Ten’s collar and brought him closer, kissing him deeply.<br/><br/>Johnny moved them off the dresser, and carried Ten over to the bed again. He crawled on top of Ten, pushing back the smaller’s legs and pressed kisses to Ten’s lips, before he started thrusting into Ten, earning moans that came deep from Ten’s throat, and Johnny grabbed the back of Ten’s legs and pushed them down, so he could go deeper. Ten gripped onto Johnny’s shoulders, his hands sliding up to tangle in the back of Johnny’s hair. Ten’s breaths seemed to turn more shallow, and his eyes that were looking into Johnny’s grew distant and rolled back. Johnny moved faster, holding onto Ten’s length.<br/><br/>  “I’m-“ Ten couldn’t finish his sentence, he started gasping and Johnny reached out to grip around Ten’s throat with his left hand, supporting himself on his knees and the hand holding one of Ten’s legs down. He started pulling at Ten’s soul, reaping him while the other was high on his orgasm that rippled through him in intense waves. Ten cried out and it unfolded into a scream. Johnny groaned as Ten’s soul blinded him, it turned so bright Johnny had to close his eyes and he came as the light embraced him in the dark room. Johnny felt like he was burning up alive, and then he felt like he was torn into many pieces and put together again.<br/><br/>But when he opened his eyes again, it was dark, and Ten wasn’t there. </span>
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  <span>Ten woke up to dawn’s light streaming into the room. A window was open wide, letting in the soft breeze. A weight was dipping down the mattress to his left and he sighed and turned around. Just as he did the events from the night before washed over him and he thought that it must be Johnny, lying beside him. For a moment it was Johnny, with his black hair all messy, but it was caramel brown hair. Ten sighed. It was Jaehyun. Had he been dreaming all of that? Was it all just a dream?<br/><br/>Ten sat up slowly. His whole body ached, there was a burning in chest as if every bone inside had splintered and was on its way through muscles and skin. There was an ache that he knew was different from the other one, one he knew had been pleasure before. Ten glanced around the room, that was when he realized he was not in his own bed, but his parents’ bed. He looked at the turned-over frames on the dresser to his left, the discarded clothes on the floor, some of them didn’t belong to Ten. It was Johnny’s clothes.<br/><br/>Ten held his breath and looked at the bedside table only to see the collar lying there. It was real. It was all real, but where was Johnny?<br/><br/>Ten released the breath he was holding in a sigh. He knew in the back of his mind that Johnny had wanted to reap him, to bring him with him to Heaven as he had once talked about. The In Between where souls go when they have no place to be. Ten knew quite a lot about Johnny’s world now that he remembered all the times Johnny had spoken about it with his gentle voice.<br/><br/>Yesterday it was different. It had been full of passion and Ten gasped at the thought of it. He felt regretful and yet that had been one of the best nights of his life. Ten dared to move out of the bed and near Johnny’s clothes. He reached down a bronze hand that stood in contrast with the white shirt on the floor, but he grabbed the narrow tie instead.<br/><br/>  “Where did you go?” He wondered aloud.</span>
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  <span>  “Johnny.”<br/><br/>  “Where am I?”<br/><br/>  “Johnny.”<br/><br/>Some voice was calling out his name, not replying to his questions, and so Johnny knew he had to open his eyes, yet he felt so weak. He was cold, but he was sweating and his body felt like it was burning with ice-cold flames. His heart was beating, hard and painfully and he kept seeing black spots when he opened his eyes.<br/><br/>  “Why do I feel like this?”<br/><br/>  “Well, you did this to yourself, Johnny.” </span>
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  <span>Then suddenly Johnny realized the voice talking was a velvety female voice, it was clear and ethereal. It was Fate.</span>
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  <span>Johnny couldn’t stay awake and he fell back into the darkness as if a robe was tied around his waist and dragged him backward. He fell into dark waters that were distant memories and suddenly one of them became clear. It came close with the speed of a train and Johnny wanted to scream when he found himself in a bright room.</span>
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  <br/>
  <span>It was lit up by the sunset outside, the sun was throwing its last rays upon the walls of the room he was in. They were a despicable orange and one wall was brown with orange and golden flowers on it. The furniture was dark and the carpet green. Johnny was sitting in a chair by a round mahogany table and he looked down at the food he was eating. Just a simple soup with meatballs floating around and he couldn’t control the hand that was stirring it with a spoon. He didn’t recognize anything even though he knew this memory belonged to him.<br/><br/>Then appeared someone he did recognize. A boy with long straight hair walked into the room, he was wearing tight red pants and a white loose shirt, which was stuffed into his pants. Johnny looked at the brown boots he was wearing and then looked up again at Ten’s face. The boy smiled at him, his skin a dark bronze. Even if there was love in his eyes, Johnny noticed the sadness.<br/><br/>  “Hey, darling.” Ten said in a bright voice but it was not stable. Johnny sighed into the soft kiss Ten gave him. “I got your medicine.” He said and placed some packages on the table. Johnny watched one of them fall. It had an odd name, but there was a sticker on it, and Johnny’s name was there. He was called Seo Young Ho. Johnny reached out to take them and noticed how skinny and pale his hand was. His skin was ashy compared to Ten’s rich skin. Johnny knew what it meant. He was ill, and maybe close to his death.<br/><br/>Ten turned on the television and Johnny smiled to himself when Ten moved one of the chairs to his side and sat down, taking one of Johnny’s hands into his and holding it between his. Johnny ate a few spoonfuls of the clear soup. It didn’t taste like much, but it almost couldn’t go down. His throat was sore and he grimaced but tried not to as Ten’s eyes searched his face. Johnny eyed the pictures on the shelves and noticed it was pictures of them and a golden Labrador. Johnny felt his heart break at how happy they looked together and how healthy Johnny looked, he looked just like Johnny did but with dyed brown long hair and a poor effort of a beard.<br/><br/>The news came on and Johnny reached out for the pillboxes but Ten quickly grabbed the boxes and helped him. Johnny held a glass of water and looked down at the colorful pills. Johnny eyed the television just as the news reporter talked. “Scientists at the National Center for Decease Control in Alanta today released the results of a study, which shows that the lifestyle of some male homosexuals has triggered an epidemic…”<br/><br/>Ten immediately slammed his hand down on the remote and switched the channel. Johnny looked down at the pills and Ten was holding his breath, not able to look at Johnny.<br/><br/>  “After this package,” Johnny spoke and Ten turned around. His eyes were brimming with tears. “Don’t buy any more medicine, Chit.” He said and dared to look into Ten’s eyes. Ten’s bottom lip quivered and two fat tears fell from his eyes before he covered his face and cried. Johnny couldn’t reach out and touch him. He didn’t have the heart to do that. He had just announced that he couldn’t live on anymore and had accepted that his time was ending. He watched with a broken heart Ten stand up and go into his bedroom, slamming the door shut before releasing a scream of pain and frustration. </span>
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  <span>
    <em>  “Well, you did this to yourself, Johnny.”</em>
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  <span>Johnny whipped his head up, eyes wide open now. “Fate.” He spoke with awe in his voice. She was standing in front of him, everything about her was red. Red like a drop of blood falling onto a white sink, red like a bright blooming rose and the lipstick girls wear to seduce men who easily are fooled. She was danger, she was love, she was anger and she was blood. The blood of the world, the thing that kept the souls coming and going, the very life of the earth. She was a God herself and Johnny was sitting before her, his wrists in chains and his knees on the ground, but he wasn’t caught by restraints but by her presence. She was made of strings, red strings that connected every limp and her hair ended down her back in a braid, she was the red string that kept everything connected.<br/><br/>  “Johnny.” She spoke again, this time with a tone of greeting. The corner of her mouth went up, she looked amused. Johnny didn’t feel like he had brought her joy, but rather he felt like a kid who was about to be scolded. “You were a weird soul, to begin with.” She suddenly admitted to herself while nodding. “But your string ended when you sacrificed yourself for your soulmate and I had to take someone in.”<br/><br/>Johnny frowned. “What do you mean?” He asked pleadingly. He sounded like he had nothing, and he didn’t. He was naked and afraid.<br/><br/>  “That boy. It’s been years… 3 decades, I think, since he last wore that face, but as soon as I assigned you to him… I had forgotten it. I had not seen the string reconnecting.” She shook her head, turning her side to Johnny. The reaper was gawping at her, taking in every word but making sense of none of it.<br/><br/>  “Please say something I can understand.” He cried and was overwhelmed by the emotions that came over him. “My soulmate?”<br/><br/>Fate sighed deeply. “Reapers become reapers when their strings run out, when they’ve gone on for too long but manage to live only a few years. When their souls lose their light and die down and they end up losing the humanity they had. I give the lost souls purpose because sending you to Hell wouldn’t do much. You wouldn’t feel it like a bright soul would.” Fate came closer to Johnny, sitting down in front of him and raising a hand to his face. “His light died, when you died in his arms. It had happened before. You were one of the few soulmates that never got their happy endings. But then when the reaper came and wanted to lead you to the Passover you denied to go. Caused such a scene. You gave his soul your remaining light and pushed him through, leaving you in your last form but without any light. I couldn’t go reap a bright soul, so I let the boy run through his lives. You worked hard, you had forgotten your past lives – because I knew you wouldn’t be able to function with the memories – so everything evened out.”<br/><br/>Fate glanced away from Johnny’s face. “Doyoung escaped your restraints too late, but he witnessed it. The way your souls connected once again. The part of Ten’s soul that had belonged to you went right back, and yet Ten’s light didn’t die out. He was somehow... recharged.”<br/><br/>Johnny gasped, eyes widening as the words started to make sense to him. Fate stood up again.<br/><br/>  “You wanted a happy ending. So I’m giving you one.” She said. “You’ve worked hard, Johnny, time to get back into the world. Next time I see you here it’s over. No more chaos in the In Between.” </span>
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  <span>Johnny watched her leave through the door of the dark room. He didn’t get to smile or cry, the pain he had suppressed came back and he succumbed to its strength.</span>
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  <span>  “Are you sure you’re ready for school?” Jaehyun asked as they walked down the street. Ten groaned and nodded exaggeratedly. “Whatever you saw or heard, please just ignore it.”<br/><br/>  “You were with a stranger, in your parents be-”<br/><br/>Ten slammed a hand over Jaehyun’s mouth. “We’re in public.” He hissed and took his hand off Jaehyun’s face. “I’m alive. He didn’t kill me-”<br/><br/>  “I think he did the opposite of kil-”<br/><br/>Jaehyun was once again assaulted by Ten, this time receiving a kick to the shin. Jaehyun cried out and hopped around on one leg. Ten watched his work with pride. “Pardon me?” He asked and Jaehyun shot him a glare.<br/><br/>  “I saw someone too.” Jaehyun admitted. “A man, not the one with you, but he was clad in a black suit. He was only there for a moment, but he’s gone now.”<br/><br/>Ten felt alarmed by hearing that. “You’re sure he’s gone?” He asked as they turned a corner. Leaves were falling off the trees, flying past them. Jaehyun smiled, a dimple showing on his cheek. Ten was comforted by the smile.<br/><br/>  “Totally sure.”</span>
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  <span>Winter came fast, but Ten felt like the days were dragging themselves by him. Johnny’s suit still hung in Ten’s closet. A reminder of a ghost that had come into his life and whispered sweet nothings into his ear and now after getting what it wanted it left him. Ten felt no presence and even when he left his door open, no one entered.<br/><br/>Ten was alone at home. Every door in the entire house was open or unlocked. He could get mugged, but he didn’t care. He just hoped someone would take away the emptiness. Ten was by the TV in the living room. Eating popcorn and watching a movie about romance, and instead of enjoying it, he felt like puking. He’d rather watch horror where everyone died, but death reminded him oddly enough of a specific person and comedy didn’t seem to entertain him.<br/><br/>  “I swear to god, doesn’t Netflix have at least one decent movie?” Ten muttered bitterly and eventually gave up. He leaned back on the couch and stared up at the ceiling. If he let his mind wander, he could still feel the touch of the reaper. Ten’s own hand started wandering up his body, fingers gracing over his neck, to his lips, and down to the place where all his energy was gathering. He revisited the memory often, but after getting off he felt an emptiness that he hated.<br/><br/>For a moment he would get caught up in it, imagining Johnny entering his room and sneaking under his covers. Ten wanted so much more than that. He wished he could imagine Johnny outside of dark rooms and think of him as the gentle man who lied with him in his hospital bed, but that was such a long time ago. Dreams faded while what had happened that night seemed to stay clear.<br/><br/>Ten was caught right before he could wrap his fingers around himself by a knock on the door. He jumped up, alarmed and got tangled by his pants that fell down to his ankles. He rushed to put them on and run into the hallway. It was the front door and he wondered if it were any of his parents’ friends who didn’t know they weren’t home. Jaehyun always used the spare key. Ten glanced at himself in the mirror before fixing his hair slightly, then he shuffled towards the door, grabbing the cold handle and opening the door just the slightest.<br/><br/>A tall figure had its back to him. The person was wearing a long black fabric coat, his hair just as black and he stood in stark contrast against the white world around him. Snow fell upon his shoulders and Ten glanced up and down the figure when suddenly he knew.<br/><br/>As the person spun around to greet him, his heart stopped and he couldn’t help but gawp at the blinding smile the other person wore. As if he didn’t just appear months after such a unique night without any word. The man in front of him was beaming too brightly for Ten to stay mad though.<br/><br/>  “Johnny?” He asked just to be sure. The man in front of him nodded, the smile falling off his face, but his eyes still glinted.<br/><br/>  “I… Funny.” Johnny huffed as he tried to start explaining. “After knowing every entrance into your house, you would think I would at least be able to find it, but I never had to walk down the street. So I…” Johnny avoided Ten’s eyes. “I wanted to make sure I at least had established a life before I came barging into yours. We need a little stability if we want our happy en-” Johnny’s eyes widened when two arms were thrown around his neck and he had to bend down so that Ten’s feet could still be on the ground.<br/><br/>  “You came back.” Ten cried. “You’re real.” He spoke in a voice that was barely audible. Johnny leaned back, but he let his hands stay on Ten’s lower back, holding him in his embrace.<br/><br/>  “It’s a long story,” Johnny explained and brushed Ten’s hair out of his face. “Thing is, you’re my soulmate, and I won’t let you down.”<br/><br/>Ten huffed and cupped Johnny’s cold cheeks, he wondered how long the other had been wandering the streets in order to find Ten’s place. “Jaehyun is gonna freak out.” Was all he could say and Johnny smiled.<br/><br/>  “I owe him an apology.” He admitted and leaned down to press a kiss to Ten’s forehead. “You too.” He spoke gently. His breath warm as it caressed Ten’s face. “I’m sorry. For everything.”<br/><br/>Ten inhaled shakily and blinked the tears that had gathered in his eyes away. “I feel like… Like even if I was hurt, it was all worth it. Because it’s you?”<br/><br/>Johnny cupped Ten’s face and leaned down again, this time letting their lips meet in a tentative kiss. “The pain means nothing compared to the chance of living a life with you, this time a long one.”<br/><br/>Ten tugged Johnny by the collar of his jacket, bringing the other’s face down to kiss him again. “You can’t convince me to die anymore.”<br/><br/>  “I won’t,” Johnny promised. “Being alive is much better, no matter the agony or the grief. With you it is perfect.” </span>
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  <span>As Johnny stood there, with his soulmate’s life in his hands he realized that he was alive. That Ten’s skin glowed and his eyes shone brightly. There was no longer a line of life to follow, now Johnny wouldn’t work with taking life, but he would do his very best to stay alive and when he met his end, which he hoped would be peaceful, he could meet Doyoung and give the other the pleasure of guiding him to wherever he thought he deserved to be. </span>
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  <span>Right now, he deserved to live.</span>
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>hoped you enjoyed this story!! &lt;3</p><p>i've got other stories with johnten, tenwin, tenyong and many other pairings as tripping-panda on asianfanfics and also here on ao3!! &lt;3</p><p>hope you will find your soulmates &lt;3333</p><p>love,<br/>emma &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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